Heel seat fitting machines



Jan. 24, 1961 L. MAWBEY 2,968,823

' HEEL SEAT FITTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 17, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 In ven for Lawr ence Maw/be? By his Attorney Jan. 24, 1961 L. MAWBEY 2,968,823

HEEL SEAT FITTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 17, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I I 1 2 116 f20 I081 H0 Jan. 24, 1961 L. MAWBEY HEEL SEAT FITTING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 17, 1958 Illll United States Patent O HEEL SEAT FITTING MACI-HNES Lawrence Mawbey, Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Sept. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 761,534 Claims priority, application Great Britain Nov. 13, 1957 Claims. (Cl. 12-315) This invention relates to machines for fitting the heel seat portions of o-utsoles of shoes for the reception of heels and more particularly to mechanism for positioning shoes and the heel seat portions of their attached outsoles with relation to various shoe supporting, positioning and trimming instrumentalities of a heel seat fitting machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,215,524, granted September 24, 1940, on an application filed in the name of George Hazelton.

In the use of the machine disclosed in Patent No. 2,215,524, the rear end of the shoe, which is manually presented heel end first and heel seat up to the machine by the operator, is positioned lengthwise and widthwise in the machine by a back stop and a forked centralizing gage, the heel breast line portion of the shoe being positioned by eye as the operator swings the shoe about the back stop and the forked centralizing gage with the heel seat portion of the attached outsole of the shoe arranged over a platen which consists of a plurality of crease plates.

It has been found that in order to fit shoes to the exactness required for the attachment of wood heels by the use of the so-called push-on system described in an ap lication for United States Letters Patent Serial No. 764,858, filed October 2, 1958, in my name, it is desirable, and accordingly an object of this invention, to provide the above-identified heel seat fitting machine with mechanism which will assist the operator in centralizing the heel breast line portion of the shoe widthwise in the machine.

- With the above object in view, applicant has provided a heel seat fitting machine comprising a paten adapted to support the heel seat portion of an attached outsole of a shoe and having an opening which lies approximately in a plane disposed at right angles to a fixed reference plane which extends longitudinally of and bisects said opening lengthwise, and means adapted to be engaged by the rear end of the shoe for positioning said rear end lengthwise and widthwise, said machine, in accordance with a feature of the present invention, being provided with members which are independently movable toward and away from each other, resilient means for constantly urging said members toward each other causing them at all times to engage opposite end portions of a feather line of the heel seat of a shoe, the rear end of which is in engagement with its positioning means, and visual means operatively connected to said members and adapted to assume recognizable positions when a heightwise median plane of the heel seat of the shoe is coincident with said reference plane.

The present invention consists in hereinafter described novel features, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration, said invention being fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

' In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 shows in front elevation the illustrative shoe centralizing device incorporated in the heel seat fitting machine disclosed in Patent No. 2,215,524, a shoe being presented to the machine being shown in dash outline;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the shoe centralizing device;

Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly in section, on the line III-III of Fig. 2 showing portions of the shoe centralizing device; and

Fig. 4 shows the centralizing device, partly broken away, and a shoe which has just been operated upon by the machine.

The illustrative shoe centralizing device is described with reference to the machine which is disclosed in said. Patent No. 2,215,524, and comprises a platen 20 (Figs. 1 and 4) including opposite pairs of crease plates 20a, 20b, and crease fingers 20c arranged to form an opening 22 which is generally U-shaped and is adapted to support. the heel seat portion 24 (Fig. 2) of an attached outsole. 26 (Fig. 4) of a shoe 28. The shoe 28 is presented heeli end first and bottom up to the machine with the heel seat: portion 24 of its outsole 26 overlying the platen and is: moved heelwardly until the rear end of the shoe engages; a back gage 30 which is initially set in accordance 'Wlthl the length of a heel (not shown) measured in a heel gage (not shown). Just before the rear end of the shoe 28 engages the back gage 30 it engages a slidable fork 32 to centralize the rear end of the shoe widthwise, the crease plates 20a, 20b, and the crease fingers 20c having been set in predetermined relative positions in accord ance with the width and length of the heel in the heel gage and accordingly the opening 22 formed by said crease plates being of a predetermined length and width. In the use of the machine disclosed in said Patent No. 2,215,524 a heel breast line 34 (Fig. 4) of the shoe 28 is commonly positioned widthwise by eye as the Work is presented to the machine, this procedure having been satisfactory for conventional work since the crease plates 20a, 20b and the crease fingers 20c serve as means for visually assisting the operator in orienting said heel breast line portion of the shoe widthwise in the machine. When the heel seat portion 24 of the outsole 26 has been positioned on the platen 20 a plurality of clamps 36, 36a (Fig. 1) force the margin of said heel seat portion against the upper faces of the crease plates 20a, 29b and the crease fingers 20c, and then a pair of side knives 38 are moved inwardly toward a vertical reference plane 45 of the machine to form heel breast receiving shoulders 42 upon the outsole. The vertical reference plane 40 is. disposed at right angles to a plane 44 (Fig. 2) which in-.. cludes fiat bottom faces 46, 46a of the crease plates 20a,, 20b and extends longitudinally or lengthwise of and bi-. sects the U-shaped opening lengthwise. The U-shaped. opening lies substantially in the bottom faces 46, 46a of the front and rear crease plates 20a, 20b and may be; said to lie in the plane 44. The crease fingers 200 are.- described in detail in United States Letters Patent No.. 2,727,260, granted December 20, 1955, on an applica-- tion filed in the name of Thomas B. Clarke et a].

When the heel breast receiving shoulders 42 have. been formed a plurality of presser members 48 (Figs. 1. and 2) are forced against the median part of the heel seat portion 24 of the outsole 26, causing said median part to be forced through the U-shaped opening 22 of the crease plates 20a, 20b and the crease fingers 29s,, and below the planar bottom faces 46, 46a of said crease; plates. A back cutter 54), provided with a straight cutting; edge 50a, thereafter moves forward along the bottom. faces 46, 46a of the crease plates 20a, Zlib to a pointjust forward of the cuts previousy made by the shoulder forming knives 38 whereby to form a heel seat tab 52- (Fig. 4) which is beveled around its margin and is of U-shaped outline, said tab being adapted substantially to fill the cup or attaching face of a heel (not shown) which-is tobe attached to -the shoe but being of suitable shape and positioned to insure that the ,rim of the attaching face of the heel may be forced snugly against a feather or break line 54 (Figs. 1 and 4) of a heel seat 56 of the shoe, so that the heel will merge attractively with the counter portion of the shoe.

After fitting the heel seat portion 24 of the. outsole 26 in the machine in accordance with conventionalpractice, the heel is commonly tried on the fitted heel seat of theshoe by the operator to insure that it his properly on said heel seat. If at that time the fitted heel seatis not satisfactory it is. touched up? by hand by the operator. In the practicing of theheel attaching method disclosed in application Serial No. 764,858, there is no opportunity after the heel seat fitting operation to try the heelwhich is to be attached to the shoe on the shoe to insure that the heel seat portion of the outsole of the shoe has been properly fitted. Moreover, a slightly greater degree of accuracy in the positioning of the shoe in the machine is necessary in fitting the heel sea-t portions of'outsoles of shoes for push-on attachment of heels than is necessary in the fitting of the heel seat portions of shoes in accordance with conventional heel attaching practice. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide the heel seat fitting machine disclosed in Patent No. 2,215,524 with the device hereinafter described for positioning the heel breast line portion 34 of the shoe widthwise in the machine.

The shoe locating device of the illustrative machine comprises a holder 60 (Figs. 1 and 2) having secured to it trunnions 62 pivotally mounted on brackets 64 secured to a heel gage support 66 forming part of the main frame 68 of the machine. As will appear later, the holder 60 is urged clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, about the axis ofthe trunnion 62, a screw 70 threaded into the holder 60 being in engagement with a face of the bracket 64. The forward end of the holder 60 is provided with bores 72 for receiving a coupling pin 74 carried by a vertically disposed supporting plate 76, a spring 78 being interposed between the holder and the plate as will be hereinafter explained.

Secured to the supporting plate 76 are bearing pins 80 upon which are journaled bell crank levers 82 provided with sensing arms or position indicating gages 84 and levers 86 provided with locating arms or centralizing gages 88, said sensing and locating arms or gages extending downwardly and forwardly, as best shown in Fig. 2, and, as will be hereinafter described, comprising fiat or planar lower end or shoe engagingfaces 90, 92

adapted to contact the shoepresented to the machine only at the forward end portions of its feather line 54.

The shoe contacting faces 90, 92 of the, gages 84,88

are inclined at angles of approximately 60 degrees to the,

vertical reference plane 40 and have horizontal elements extending forwardly and rearwardly of the machine. The levers 86 comprise horizontalarms 94 which are of equal length and are provided with interengaging teeth 96, the construction and arrangement of these levers being such that the shoe contacting faces 92 are constrained for equal movement in opposite directions at opposite sides of the vertical reference plane 4tl,said

shoe contacting faces being constantly urged toward this plane by a spring 98 opposite ends of which are attached to the locating arms 88. It will thus be clear that pressure of the shoe 28 against one of the faces 92 of the gages 88 sufficient to cause movement of said one face.

in one direction will cause the other face to move an equal amount in an opposite direction, the faces always being positioned aqual distances at opposite sides of the vertical reference plane'40.

The locating arms or gages 88 are provided with flanges 100 through which are threaded stop screws 102 adapted to abut against flat front faces of abutments104 which are illustratedas mounted, respectively, on the crease fingers 20c but which may bemounted on a fixed frame location of the supporting plate 76 with relation to the operating head of the machine, the spring 78 acting between the supporting plate and the ho der 60 serving to urge the stop screws 102 against the abutment support 104 and the screw 70 mounted on the holder 60 against the heel gage supporting portion 66 of the machine, the construction-and arrangement being such that the shoe centralizing device normally occupies the position shown in Figs..l and 2..but the holder may be moved about the axis ofits trunnion 62 and the supporting plate may be moved somewhat about the axis of the coupling pin 74. Such a construction facilitates the adjustment of the shoe centralizing devices with relation to the operating head ofthe machine.

The right and left levers 82 which are mounted on the bearing pins comprise horizontal arms 108, 108a, respectively. The arm 108 has pivoted to it a link 110 pivoted to an arm 112 of a bell crank lever 114 freely mounted on a stud shaft 116 secured to the supporting plate 76, a vertical arm 118 of this lever extending through an opening between the holder 60 and the supporting plate 76 and having secured to it by a screw 120 an indicating member or pointer 122.

The horizontal arm 10811 of the left bell-crank lever 82 has pivoted to it a link 124 the lower end of which is pivoted to onearm 125 of a bell-crank lever 126 freely mounted on the stub shaft 116, a vertical arm 128 of the bell-crank lever 126 extending upwardly behind the vertical arm 118 and having secured to it by a screw 130 an indicating member or pointer132 which is larger than and arranged behind the pointer 122 and has an index line, 134 marked upon it. The right and left sensing arms or gages.84 are moved clockwise and counterclockwise;

respectively as viewed from the front of the machine by a spring 136 opposite ends of which are attached to said arms.

As above noted the linkages between the arms:10,8,

of the pointers 122, 132 are thus dependent upon the distances of the faces 90 of the gages 84 from the vertical reference plane 40. When these distances are equal, the pointer 122 lines up with the index line 134 of the pointer 132 and relative displacement between the pointers indicates the difference in distance of the faces 90 from the vertical reference plane 40.

A stop 138 adjustably secured to the supporting plate 76 prevents the two pointers 122, 132 from moving more than a desired maximum distance to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, under the influence of the spring 136 and accordingly the gages 84 being pulled more than a certain distance toward each other by said spring, this dis tance being slightly less than the width of the heel breast line portion of the smallest shoe to be operated upon. It will be noted that the arms or gages 88 lie respec tively adjacent to supporting flanges 84a of the arms or gages 84 and, accordingly, that the faces 92 of the gages 88 cannot be nearer to the vertical reference plane 40 than can be the faces 90 of the gages 84.

In the operation of the illustrative machine a heel (not shown) is positioned in a heel gaging device (not shown) on the heel gage support 66 and positions the back gage 30 and the centralizing fork 32 in accordance with the length of the heel in said heel gaging device, the crease plates 20a,20b, the clamps 36, 36a and the presser members 48 being adjusted in accordance with the width and the length of the heel in said heel gaging device, all

assesses of which is explained in detail in Patent No. 2,215,524.

The shoe 28 to which the heel is to be attached is presented to the machine, heel end first and heel seat up, as best illustrated in Fig. 4, the heel seat portion 24 of the attached outsole 26 of the shoe overriding the crease plates 20a, 20b and the rear end of the counter portion of the shoe engaging at least one of the faces 92 of the arms or gages 88, and both of the faces 90 of the arms or gages 84, the shoe being moved rearward until it engages the centralizing fork and then being moved rearward about an eighth of an inch until it engages the back gage. At this stage, the shoe is raised slightly so that its laterally rounded heel seat 56 lies in close proximity to the general plane 44 of the bottom faces 46, 46a of the crease plates 20a, 20b, the faces 90 of the sensing arms or gages 84, and at least one of the faces 92 of the locating arms or gages 88, engaging the forward end portion of the feather line 54 of the heel seat 56 of the shoe. At this stage in the operation it is possible for the operator to swing the heel breast line portion 34 of the shoe 28 from side to side, said shoe pivoting about its point of contact with the back gage 30 and the forked centralizing gage 32. If the heightwise median plane of the heel seat 56 of the shoe 28 is not coincident with the fixed vertical reference plane 40 only one of the faces 92 of gages 88 will be in engagement with the feather line 54, the other face 92 being spaced from the feather line, and both faces 90 of the arms or gages 84 will be in engagement with the opposite end portion of the feather line, but the pointers 122, 132 will be spaced apart. The operator noting the positions of the pointers 122, 132 immediately realizes that the heel breast line portion 34 of the shoe has to be swung in a certain direction about its rear end to bring the heightwise median plane of the heel seat of the shoe coincident with the fixed reference plane 40 and thus swings the shoe laterally until the pointers 122, 132 are in alinement with each other at which time the faces 82 of the arms or gages 88 will engage opposite end portions of the feather line and will assist in holding the shoe in place against lateral displacement, the operator being able to feel when the shoe has been swung out of its centralized position.

It will be understood that the opposite ends of the feather line 54 of the heel seat 56 of the shoe are arranged equal distances from the heightwise median plane of said heel seat and accordingly the illustrative gaging device will serve without adjustment to orient left and right shoes in the machine. It will also be understood that the shoe positioning device may include only the arms or gages 88 or may include only the arms Or gages 84. When the gages 84 and their associated pointers are used without the arms or gages 88, screws (not shown) corresponding to screws 102 are adjustably secured to the gages 84 and bear upon the abutments 104.

It has been found that when the arms or gages 88 alone are relied upon to centralize the heel breast line portion 34 of the shoe 28 in the machine, the strength of the spring 98 may be somewhat increased in order to insure that the operator may feel the pull of the spring tending to centralize the shoe in the machine, it being borne in mind that the faces 92 of the gages 88 are arranged beneath the front crease plates 20a respectively and accordingly are hidden from the view of the operator. When the spring, as above explained, is of substantial strength, considerable effort is required to position the shoe in the machine. Moreover, when the spring is of substantial strength there is a tendency to mark certain types of leather as the work is being inserted in and being removed from the machine.

When the arms or gages 84 and their associated pointers 122, 132 alone are relied upon to assist the operator in'the positioning of the work in the machine the operator may quickly and effectively swing the shoe about the back gage 30 and the centralizing fork 32 to a position in which the heightwise median plane of the heel seat of the shoe is coincident with the vertical reference line 40, the operator thereafter, by the use of a treadle (not shown) causing the clamps 36, 36a to force the margin of the heel seat portion 24 of the attached outsole 26 of the shoe against the platen 20 preparatory to further depressing the treadle to cause the machine to operate through its cycle. One objection to the use of the arms or gages 84 and the associated pointers 122, 132 without the use of the arms or gages 84 is that the operator must use special care not to move the shoe while the machine is being treadled since the gages 84 do not tend to hold the heel breast line portion 34 of the shoe centralized in the machine while other operations are being performed as do the gages 88.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a heel seat fitting machine, a platen adapted to support the heel seat portion of an attached outsole of a shoe and having an opening which lies approximately in a plane disposed substantially at right angles to a fixed machine reference plane which extends longitudinally of and bisects said opening lengthwise, means adapted to be engaged by the rear end of the shoe for positioning said rear end. lengthwise and widthwise, and members which are independently movable toward and away from each other, resilient means for constantly urging said members toward each other causing them at all times to engage opposite end portions of a feather line of the heel seat of the shoe the rear end of which is in engagement with said first-named means, and visual means operatively connected to said members and adapted to assume recognizable positions when a heightwise median plane of the heel seat of the shoe is coincident with said reference plane.

2. In a heel seat fitting machine, a platen for supporting the heel seat portion of an attached outsole of a shoe having a heel seat feather line, means adapted to be engaged by the rear end of the shoe, the heel seat of which is arranged opposite the bottom of the platen, for positioning said rear end of the shoe lengthwise and widthwise with the heel seat portion of its outsole overlying the platen, resilient means, a pair of gages which are movable independently of each other and are constantly urged toward each other by said resilient means and which are adapted to be engaged simultaneously by opposite end portions respectively of said feather line of the shoe irrespective of the widthwise position of the heel breast line portion of the shoe, and indicators which are operatively connected to said gages and are in recognizable positions when the heel breast line portion of the shoe is centralized with relation to said platen.

3. In a heel seat fitting machine, a platen for supporting the heel seat portion of an attached outsole of a shoe having a heel seat feather line, said platen having an opening which lies approximately in a plane disposed substantially at right angles to a fixed machine reference plane extending longitudinally of and bis-ecting said opening, means adapted to be engaged by the rear end of the shoe for positioning said rear end lengthwise and widthwise, resilient means, gages which are independently movable with relation to each other and are constantly urged toward each other by said resilient means and which are adapted to be engaged by opposite end portions respectively of the feather lines of right and left shoes, said gages being adapted to follow the heel breast line portion of the shoe as it is moved laterally of the shoe with relation to said reference plane, and indicators operatively connected respectively to the gages and adapted to show the operator the general position of a heightwise median plane of the heel seat portion of the shoe with relation to said reference plane.

4. In a heel seat fitting machine, means for positioning the rear end of a shoe heightwise, lengthwise and widthwise, a pair of centralizing gages which are spaced equal distances at oppositesides of a fixed reference plane of the machine and are geared together for equal movements in opposite directions with reference to said plane, a springfor urging said gages toward each other, said gages being adapted to be engaged respectively by the end portions of the feather line of the heel seat of the shoe as the rear end of the shoe is positioned in the machine, a pair of position indicating gages which are movable independently of each other and are adapted to be engaged by end portions of the feather line of the shoe, a spring for constantly urging said position indicating gages toward each other, and a pair of pointers which are operatively connected respectively to the said position indicating gages and are in a recognizable relation when said position indicating gages are located equal distances at opposite sides of said fixed reference plane and both of the centralizing gages are in engagement with the feather line ofthe shoe.

5. In a heel seat fitting machine, a platen having an opening lying approximately in a plane and adapted to be received between a heel seat of a shoe and the heel seat portion of an attached outsole of the shoe, the plane of said opening being disposed substantially'at right angles to a fixed machine reference plane which extends longitudinally of and bisects said opening lengthwise, a back by the platen whereby to locate the rear portion of the shoe lengthwise and widthwise, a pair of centralizing gages, a pair of indicating gages, springs for constantly 'gage and a rear centralizing member adapted to be en- 25 gaged by the rear end of the shoe positioned heightwise urging the gages of each of said pairs'of gages respectively toward each other, opposite gages of said pairs of gages being adapted to be engaged respectively by opposite end portions of the feather line of the shoe whereby to assist the operator in the positioning of a heightwise median plane of the heel seat of the shoe into coincidence with the fixed machine referenceplane, the centralizing gages being located equal distances at opposite sides of said reference plane and being geared for equal movement in opposite directions with reference to said reference plane, and the position indicating gages of the other of said pairs being mounted for movement independently of each other and being adapted to be displaced different distances from said reference plane in accordance with the widthwise position of the heel breast line portion of,

the shoe in the machine, and pointers which are operattively connected respectively to the position indicating gages and which register with each other when the position indicating gages arearranged equal distances at opposite sides of said fixed reference plane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,837,399 Bessom Dec. 22, 1931 2,028,382 Dopp Jan. 21, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 276,055 Great Britain Aug. 17, 1927 UIXITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,968 82'3 January 24 1961 Lawrence-Mawbey It is hereby certified that error appears in ,the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below 1 I Column. 8 lines 11 and 12 strike. out "oi the other of said pairswt Signed and sealed this 3rd day of April 1962.

(S Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

